Climate change will be a lesser priority in Florida and largely disappear from state statutes under legislation signed Wednesday by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that also bans power-generating wind turbines offshore or near the state's lengthy coastlines.
“We're restoring sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots,” the Republican governor said in a post on the X social media platform. Florida is already about 74% reliant on natural gas to power electric generation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Critics of the bill say it ignores the reality of climate change threats in Florida, including projections of rising seas, extreme heat, flooding and severe storms.